2006 Cotton Bowl Classic

2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Bowl Game

2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic logo
Texas Tech Red Raiders Alabama Crimson Tide
(9-2) (9-2 [n 1])
10 13
Head coach: 
Mike Leach		 Head coach: 
Mike Shula
AP Coaches BCS
20 15 15
AP Coaches BCS
8 13 13
1 2 3 4 Total
Texas Tech 3 0 0 7 10
Alabama 7 0 3 3 13
Date January 2, 2006
Season 2005
Stadium Cotton Bowl
Location Dallas, Texas
MVP Offensive: Alabama QB Brodie Croyle
Defensive: Alabama LB DeMeco Ryans
Payout US$2,850,000 per team[1]
Cotton Bowl Classic
 < 2005  2007 > 

The 2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was held on January 2, 2006, in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide of the SEC, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference.

During the 2005 season, Alabama — led by quarterback Brodie Croyle — earned a 9-2 regular season record (all nine wins were later vacated by the NCAA due to violations).[2] The Crimson Tide's two losses of the season came to SEC West rivals LSU and Auburn.

Texas Tech — led by quarterback Cody Hodges — also suffered two defeats during their season, including a 52–17 defeat to Texas — Texas went on to win the National Championship later in the season — and a 24–17 loss at Oklahoma State.

In 2009, the NCAA vacated Alabama's Cotton Bowl win due to infractions committed during the season.[3]

Contents

Game

In a matchup of Alabama's first-ranked scoring defense and Texas Tech's second-ranked scoring offense, the Crimson Tide held the Red Raiders to ten points — thanks to numerous pressures and four sacks of Texas Tech senior quarterback Cody Hodges — who completed only 15 of 32 passes for 191 yards and was knocked out of the game for a period in the second half.

The Alabama defense was assisted by an efficient offense that controlled the ball much of the game and kept the defense off the field; Alabama ultimately possessed the ball for 38:56, largely thanks to Kenneth Darby, who rushed for 83 yards on 29 carries.

Alabama scored first — less than four minutes into the game — as Croyle hit sophomore wide receiver Keith Brown for a 76–yard touchdown (though he should have been ruled down prior to the first down, as he caught the ball with his knee on the ground[4]); Brown finished as Croyle’s top target, gaining 142 yards on five catches. An Alex Trlica 34-yard field goal brought Texas Tech to within four, and the teams traded blocked field goals to end the first half. Alabama kicker Jamie Christensen missed a field goal from 38 yards early in the second quarter.

Though the Crimson Tide defense kept the Red Raiders in check most of the second half, Hodges engineered late drives for Texas Tech, using both his legs (he finished as his team’s top rusher, gaining 93 yards on 13 carries) and arm. He eventually hit Jarrett Hicks for a game-tying touchdown. It was the Alabama offense that finally secured the win for the Crimson Tide, as quarterback Brodie Croyle, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 275 yards, drove his team 55 yards late in the fourth quarter to set up kicker Jamie Christensen’s 46–yard game-winning field goal.

The game-winning field goal by Christensen was the first game-ending score a Cotton Bowl Classic since 1979, when Joe Montana brought Notre Dame from behind to defeat the University of Houston.[5]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Texas Tech Alabama
1 11:37 2 plays, 84 yards Alabama Keith Brown 76-yard touchdown reception from Brodie Croyle, Jamie Christensen kick good 0 7
3:00 10 plays, 69 yards Texas Tech 34-yard field goal by Alex Trlica 3 7
3 6:53 17 plays, 67 yards Alabama 31-yard field goal by Jamie Christensen 3 10
4 2:56 2 plays, 38 yards Texas Tech Jarrett Hicks 12-yard touchdown reception from Cody Hodges, Alex Trlica kick good 10 10
0:00 10 plays, 58 yards Alabama 45-yard field goal by Jamie Christensen 10 13
10 13

Win vacated

Alabama's Cotton Bowl Classic win, as well as all nine regular season wins, were vacated in 2009 when the NCAA announced penalties against the school for violations that occurred during the season.[6]

  1. ^ Alabama later vacated all wins during the season for an official 0-2 record.

References

  1. ^ http://www.ncaafootball.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=6984
  2. ^ "Alabama wins vacated". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596. 
  3. ^ "Alabama wins vacated". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596. 
  4. ^ "Alabama Didn't Win the Cotton Bowl". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51FPtrs8tFk. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 
  5. ^ "Last-second field goal lifts Bama to Cotton Bowl win". ESPN. 2006-01-02. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=260020333. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
  6. ^ Zenor, John (06-11-2009). "NCAA places Alabama football program on probation". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnmAdMnCHc1UXGGbZikrmXj3Le0gD98OOQDG0. Retrieved 06-12-2009. 

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